Swivel



. WILLIAM lvieron nowLEs; or HOUSTON, Taxes. AssIeNoa To :um

Patented Jan. s, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicr.

SWIVEL application aiednoveihb'er 22, 1920. serial No. 425,824.

To all lwhom t 1concem.' f Be it known that IWILI`.I`AM V. BowLEs, a citizen of the' United States,jresidin in Houston, in the county of Harris and Sgtate of Texas, have invented lcertain Ynewand useful Improvements in lSwivels, of which the following is a specification, Areference being had to the' -accompanying drawing, forming a part thereof. j This invention relates to hydraulic well drilling appliances and has particular reference to theswivels 'by which-the drilling mechanism is supported and rotated.'l

Considerable diiliculty has 4'hitherto been"V experienced in protecting theswivel 'from mud and water due to the fact that the packing about the rotatable p arts frequently leaks on account of the high which it is subjected. It l is 'anfobject of this invention to reduce the number ofl pack-v ing glands required for afswivel'and'to pro- 'v vide a suitable packing arrangement where#4 by the liability of leakage' is greatly reduced. v

Further objects of the invention are to provide a protect-ive housing for the swivel bearings wherein they may be encased in a" suitable protective vfluid and to provide a,- form of construction for -the'b'ea-'ringp-ar ts l that will withstand-the great strainzto which the swivel bearings are subjected when drill-v ing deep wells.

In accordance with my inventionfthe 'usuand'equipped with a' plurality of `packing glands, is dispensed with,and thehose stein is arranged to communicate with'a suitable` water reservoir and a pipe "is provided ,for

conducting the waterfrom the reservoir/tol the swivel stem.l

I have illustrated a preferred forni ofl theC invention `'in the accompanying drawing'f which shows a sectional elevation ofan apparatus arranged in accordance ,"with' the iiivention and constituting "an embodiment thereof.

The pipe ormai'n swivel stem 1 is adapted to be connected 4to thedrillfin such man jv ner as willi readily be understood by those skilled in the art.v The upper end ofthe'i swivel 'stem' is threaded externally'in order that it may be 'attached 'to the, upperbean` ing plate 2. I prefer 'tojemploy coarse tapered threads in the -making'ofthis4 connection so that when repairs Vare necessary pressures to to exert a greater sisting of the gland 12and rial 13. It is suiiicient-'to .attach the lower i the severa moved than in case the connectionwas made by means kof fine, straight threads.` bearing plate 2 rests upon the bearing plate 3,v the upperplate being preferably `convex in shape in, concave surface of the lowerplatef:V Underneath the plate 3 are the bearings 4 resting on the race'plate 5. L.

In drilling wells there are at times owerful lateral .strains towhich ,the swive bearings are subjected and the form of construction illustrated is well adapted .to Ltake care of' these great strains `Onjaccount off the freedom of movement of the bearing `plate The orderthat itmay fit into the v 3 and owing to the convex surface ofthe 1 upperbearing and tlhe concave surface of the-lowerone the weight4 carried Kby, the swivel stein 1 will be thrown evenly upon'- th'e bearingsand sincethereis 4no tendency u y pressure on one Side than upon another the bearings lLw'ill worn evenly. 1

The' bearings 'areganeiosea' in'y a' easing rf a chamber7 which trunnion' body 6 having is adapted to contain oil, the oasingliaving atop plate 8 which is bolted onto'it. The bearings are thus maintainedV in a .bath of.. oil sov that they may be properly lubricated and at protected from dirt, water the same time are and mud. A gpi e orotheroilfeedin i feeding' oil to the chamber 7.

care of thrust movements. i The swivel stem lis internallythreaded at the ton in order that it may bel attached f .to the pipe 9, the swivel stemand' pi'pe begland 10 and vided about the swivel stem 1 is provided at the top of the chamber congland by meansof bolts. The upper gland,

suitable 'packing which lmay consist of; the

packing Ainaterial-l1. is pro? f at: the'y base' ofthe oil chamberand similarly packing .packing mate?,4

arrangement may eprovided, if. desire for? The `pencil bearings 22 are inserted in o derlto take .u

however, in aybest bethreaded and arranged' to screw into La supportingmember at the.'

topl of the top ADlate 8.

A, housing 14 is fastenedortothe and another casing 15 issecured 'on top, of the housing 1gb, s'rshown in the drawing housings are secured by means ilo" . the hose stem may be screwed into the casing 15. The rotating member 9 is packedV by means of the gland 18 and packing material 19, the pressure of the water in thechamber tending to force the gland tightly into position. ,This packing is the onl one in the entire apparatus which is required to stand n highpressures and it is therefore made'up of'such materials as will withstand the pres-A sures commonly employed in drilling oil wells.

The housing 14 may be provided with an opening 20 so that in case the-packing 19 should leak the water flowinginto the housing will "iow through the opening and will at once'. indicate to the 'operator that the high pressure packing needsV attention.' If desired a pipe 23 having a check valve 24 may be connected to the opening 20 and thus the entrance of any foreign substance within the housing 14 may be prevented while any water collecting therein may be discharged..

The swivel is sup-ported by means of the trunnion blocks or studs 21 upon which a swivel bail 25 is hung, as will be readily understood by thosev skilled in the art.'

The pi e 9 preferably extends above the bottom o the chamber 16 in order that sedi'- men-t in the water may be allowed to collect in the space below the top of the pipe. If', vdesired this space may be filled with a. heavy grease in order to protect the bearing from grit and sediment'.

In operation the swivel stem 1 is vrotated upon its bearings and water is p-umped in",

through the hose stem 26 into the chamber 16 from where lit Hows through the pipe 9 into the swivel stem 1. yApparatus of preferred form and construct-'onvha's been illustrated and described for the purpose of showing a way in which this invention may be used, but the inventive thought upon which the application is based,

is broader than this illustrative embodiment g.

thereof, and I therefore intend no limitations other than those imposed by the apended claims. `lVhat' I claim is A 1. In a swivel, a hollow trunnion body, a

swivel stem'extending through said trunnion! body, means forrotatably supporting the swivel stem within said trunnion body, a

chambered member within which the upper end of the swivel stem terminates, means for introducing water into the chamber'and a stuffing box for said stem positioned within said chamber and adapted to be forced into position by the pressure of the water wit-hin the chamber. A Y

2. In a swivel, a hollow trunnion body, a

swivel stem extending through said trunnion body, means for vrotatably supportin the swivel stem ywithin said trunnion bo y, a plate adapted to form a closure for said hollow ltrunnion body and provided `with an aperture through which Ithe swivelstem may pass, a stuiingbox for saidv stem mounted upon said plate,` a stationary. chambered member within which the upper end of the swivel stem terminates, means for introducing water into said chamberfand a stutiing box for said Astem ositioned within said chamber and adapte tobe forced into position by the'pressure of thewater kwithin the chamber. e

3. In aswivel, a hollow trunnion body, a plate mounted lthereon arranged to form a closure for ksaid hollow trunnion body, a housing positioned above'. "said trunnion body, a chambered member supported by said housing, a swivel stem passing through said hollow trunnion body and housing and terminating slightly` above the bottom of said chamber, means for rotatabl supporting said swivel stem within sai trunnion body, a pairof stuffing boxes for said swivel stem one of' which is adapted to prevent the passage of fluid from the hollow trunnion body and :the other of which is adapted to prevent ythe .passage of fluid from said chamber'. n

` 4. In a swivel, a hollow trunnion body, a plate mounted thereon arranged to form a closure for said hollow7 trunnion body, a housing mounted above said hollow trunnion body, a chambered member supported byv said housing, a swivel` stem )assin through said hollow trunnion body an vhousing and terminating slightly above the bottom of said chamber, a bearing plate attached to said swivel stem bearing members cooperating therewith adapted to rotatablyfsupport `said 'swivel stem within the hollow trunnion body, v a stuffing box for the` stem mounted upon the'trunnion body closure plate, and a stuffing box for said "f stem positioned within said chamber.

5. -In a swivel,;a hollow trunnion body, a swivel stem rotatably supported on said trunnion body, la lurality of pencil bearings surrounding sai stemt to compensate for thrust movements thereof, apipeA attached to the fupper end of said stem, a chambered member mounted above the trunnion bod within which said pipe terminates and studiing boxes for said pipe.

6. In a swivel, a stationary hollow trunthe uppermost stuing nion body, a rotatable swivel stem extendin throu h said trunnion body, means carrie by said trunnion body and provided with a chamber vin which the upper end of the swivel stem terminates, means for delivering water under pressure into said chamber, and a stuing box surrounding said swivel stem and disposed within said chamber in such manner that the water pressure tends to maintainthe stuiiing box tight.

7. In a swivel, a stationary hollow trunnion body, a chambered member carried by said trunnion body, means for delivering water into said chamber, a swivel stem rotatably mounted in said trunnion body and extending into said water chamber a short dist-ance to provide a trap for sediment, and a stuing box surrounding said swivel stem and disposed within said chamber.

8. In a swivel, a stationary hollow trunnion body provided with three separate enclosed chambers disposed the one above the other, a rotatable swivel stem extending throu h the two lower chambers and ter-v minatmg within the. upper chamber, bearings for said'swivel stem disposed within the lowest chamber, said chamber containing an oil bath, stuiiing boxes surrounding saidswivel stem and disposed respectively at the lower end of said lowest chamber and between the three chambers, means for supplying water to the uppermost chamber, and an outlet in the intermediate chamber to draw 0E any water that may leak throu h box whereby t e entrance of water into the oil bath is prevented.

9. In a swivel, a stationary hollow trunnion body having a bearing chamber and a water chamber d isposed above it, a rotatablev swivel stem extending through said trunnion body and terminating in said water chamber, a self-centering thrust bearin for said swivel stem disposed within said earing chamber and comprising cooperating members adapted for relative lateral shifting movements for equalizing and distributing the load thereon, a stuiling box surrounding Asaid swivel stem and dis osed in said.

rotatable swivel stem projecting through said trunnion body chamber, and a self-centering thrust 4bearing for said swivel stem adapted to hold said stem in fixed axial alinement and comprising relatively shiftable cooperating members for equalizing and distributing the load thereon.

12. In a swivel, a stationary hollow trunnion body having aA bearing chamber, .a rotatable swivel stem projecting through said trunnion body chamber, and a lself- 'centering thrust bearing `for said swivel stem adapted to hold saidxstem in fixed axial alinement and comprising a bearing plate lixed to said swivel stem and provided with a lower convex surface, a laterally 'shiftable bearing plate having an upper concave surface upon which the upper bearin plate rests, a race-plate disposed beneat said lower bearing plate, and a lurality of antifriction bearings disposed between said lower bearing plate and said race-plate.

13. In a swivel, a hollow trunnion body having a bearing chamber, a rotatable swivel stem extendingl through said trunion body, self-centerinnr t rust bearings for said swivel disposed within said bearing chamber, and a plurality of independent pencil bearings dlsposed around said swivel stem and beneath said self-centering bearings -for compensating for thrust movements of said stem.

In witness whereof I. have hereunto set my hand this 6th da of Nov., 1920.-

WILLIAM ICTOR BOWLES. 

